*PRE-ORDER* - Liquidation at the Chess Board Mastering the Transition into the Pawn Endgame

Catalog Code: B0149NIC

Pawn endings do not arise out of nowhere. Before emerging as endgames with just kings and pawns, they 'pre-existed' in positions that still contained any number of pieces. Liquidation is the purposeful transition into a pawn ending. It is a vital technique that is seldom taught. Strange, because knowing when and how to liquidate can help you win games or save draws. In this book, former US Chess Champion Joel Benjamin teaches you all you need to know about successfully liquidating into pawn endgames.

Most players tend to neglect the endgame, many even dodge the endgame by taking extreme risks in the middlegame, simply because they feel uncertain about the final phase. But time limits have shortened, and the endgame has to be played fast. A solid basic knowledge is vital. There are, contrary to what most amateurs believe, relatively few endgames one must know. Here the 100 endgames are presented that:show up most frequently in practice are easy to learn and contain ideas and concepts useful in more difficult positions.

1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners is a great first tactics book. It helps you in identifying weak spots in the position of your opponent, in recognizing patterns of combinations, and in visualizing tricks.

Every chess player who is serious about improving his game, should study the lessons of Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935). 'My System' (published in 1925) and 'Chess Praxis' (1928) had tremendous impact and made Nimzowitsch one of the most influential chess thinkers of the 20th century. His books continue to be printed, sold and read to this day. Reinhardt’s collection starts where Nimzowitsch’s second volume Chess Praxis ends. It offers a unique view of the chess world of the late 1920s and 1930s, its top tournaments and the state of theory.

Bent Larsen (1935-2010) was one of the greatest fighters chess has ever seen. In his rich career the great Dane defeated all World Champions from Botvinnik to Karpov. He was a Candidate for the World Championship four times and became one of the most successful tournament players of his time. His uncompromising style and his unorthodox thinking made him popular with chess players all around the globe.

Bobby Fischer's lone fight against the Soviet chess powerhouse made him a global hero, also for people who did not play chess at all. The Russians trembled before him, the Americans and the rest of the world cheered him on. Fischer's chess prowess and his will to win were unparalleled. But so were his eccentric behaviour and his paranoia. After he won the world title, Bobby Fischer vanished and the former prodigy became a mystery. The memories of his successwere clouded by his anti-American and anti-Semite rants.

This book marks the end of an era: the mighty Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995) loses his world title fifteen years after he conquered the highest crown for the first time. It is a gripping account of a heroic battle. The ageing Botvinnik desperately tries to bounce back after his Armenian opponent Tigran Petrosian has taken an early lead, but ultimately fails.

Beginners of all ages will win more games after studying this easy-to-follow book. This isn't another random collection of puzzles, but a systematic course that teaches you how to checkmate your opponent. Experienced chess coach Kevin Stark explains elementary mating patterns in all the important positions and provides many tests to see if you have really mastered the technique.

In Chess Strategy for Club Players you will learn the basic elements of positional understanding, including pawn structures, piece placement, lead in development, open files, weaknesses, space advantage and king safety. You will master the art of converting a temporary plus into other, more permanent advantages. The author also explains what to do when, in a given position, the basic principles seem to point in different directions.

Chess Training for Post-Beginners A Basic Course in Positional Understanding

Catalog Code: B0143NIC

After you have learned the rules of chess and developed some tactical abilities, how do you go from there? You are now ready to tackle basic issues of strategy, but what is the best way to improve and win more games?

In the battle of chess ideas, the publication in 1991 of Dynamic Chess Strategy was a defining moment. Before Mihai Suba's exceptional book, chess writers had neglected one of the most important factors of a chess position: its dynamic potential. Suba demonstrated that the traditional concept of improving the position was often static and irrelevant, and that classical strategy, if applied dogmatically, can prevent you from finding the right plan and its subsequent moves.

This rich book on chess tactics proposes a revolutionary method for finding winning moves. Charles Hertan has made an astonishing discovery: the failure to consider key moves is often due to human bias. Your brain tends to disregard many winning moves because they are counter-intuitive or look unnatural.

One of the most effective ways to improve your chess is to take a world class-player as your example. By collecting his games, studying his choices and examining his style, you will understand what made him rise to the very top. This is what Guido Kern and Jurgen Kaufeld have done with Swedish chess legend Ulf Andersson, a positional genius with a crystal-clear style, who rose to the number 4 spot of the FIDE world rankings.

The story of Bill Hook's life with his many passions: chess, painting, traveling, photography and blackjack. Bill Hook won a gold medal at the Chess Olympiad and his friends include street hustlers and world champions. He played with the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Harold Schonberg, Marcel Duchamp and Miguel Najdorf. After Bill Hook had beaten him four times in a row, a very young Bobby Fischer started crying. Now Hook lives and plays on the Virgin Islands. An admirable and colorful life. The autobiography of a gambler, painter and chess player.

How Magnus Carlsen Became the Youngest Chess Grandmaster in the World The Story and the Games

Catalog Code: B0131NIC

At the age of 13 years, 4 months and 26 days, Magnus Carlsen became the youngest chess grandmaster in the world. The international press raved about the Norwegian prodigy. The Washington Post even called him ‘the Mozart of chess’. Ten years on Magnus Carlsen is the number one in the world rankings and a household name far beyond chess circles. Time Magazine listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013

In this book IM Arthur van de Oudeweetering supplies building blocks for your chess knowledge. In short chapters he presents lots of well-defined subjects, easy to remember because of their specific elements. After working with this book you will experience something wonderful: your mind and memory will be triggered much easier and more frequently. An increasing number of positions, pawn structures and piece placements will automatically activate your chess knowledge. As a result, you will simply find the right move more often and more quickly!

Instruction + exercises according to the old Soviet Chess School. The best advice for chess players who want to improve quickly is: get better at tactics! Because the vast majority of amateur games is decided through tactics you will immediately start beating more opponents when you improve your tactical skills.

Every chess player knows that some moves are harder to see than others. Why is it that, frequently, uncomplicated wins simply do not enter your mind? Even strong grandmasters suffer from blind spots that obscure some of the best ideas during a game. What is more: often both players fail to see the opportunity that is right in front of their eyes.

In this monumental book, originally published in 1989 in a limited edition and highly sought after by chess collectors, Jimmy Adams brings Zukertort’s masterpieces to the notice of today’s chess world and secures his rightful place in history as an important link between the old combinational and the modern positional school.

Daniel Naroditsky has done it again! Following 'Mastering Positional Chess' the American chess prodigy has written an instructional book that is at least as ambitious as his acclaimed debut. Naroditsky draws heavily on his own experience as a player and has no problem pointing out his own mistakes. His systematic approach and didactic skills help you to understand rather than just memorize these endings. Rarely if ever before have the ideas that decide endings been explained so clearly. This book will take your endgame technique to the next level.

Mastering Positional Chess Practical Lessons of a Junior World Champion

Catalog Code: B0088NIC

Mastering Positional Chess is a serious, but entertaining chess instruction book. Daniel started writing it when he realized that his lack of positional understanding was causing him to lose many games.

Power Chess for Kids Learn How to Think Ahead and Become One of the Best Players in Your School

Catalog Code: B0104NIC

A power move, explains experienced chess teacher Charles Hertan, is a winning master tactic that requires thinking ahead. To become one of the best chess players in your school you need to be able to think just 1,5 moves ahead, and this book teaches the four basic tricks do so.

Power Chess for Kids - Volume 2 More Ways to Think Ahead and Become One of the Best Players in Your School

Catalog Code: B0132NIC

For kids who love to amaze their friends with their chess skills, Charles Hertan presents new ways to find Power Moves, winning tactics that require thinking ahead. In Volume 2, the four special teachers get a new colleague! Knelly the Knight arrives on the scene and will assists Zort (a computer from outer space), the Dinosaurs, the Power Chess Kids and the Chess Professor. Together they will help you to become a very dangerous chess player.

Sacrifice and Initiative in Chess Seize the Moment to Get the Advantage

Catalog Code: B0133NIC

In this book Ivan Sokolov presents a set of practical tools that will help you to master the art of sacrifice. By concentrating on the aim you are trying to achieve, rather than on the opening you are playing or the piece you might be going to sack, he teaches you how to come to a reasonable risk assessment and how to trust your intuition. There is a separate part on seizing the initiative without actually giving up material. Ivan Sokolov has written an entertaining and instructive guide, packed with useful advice and lots of practical examples.

The best way to improve at chess is to solve tactics puzzles. But why do regular tactics books make amateurs study master games? Is it useful for beginners to analyze games that are unreal for everyday chess players? YES! Tactics Time 2 presents 1001 fresh and instructive positions.

Techniques of Positional Play 45 Practical Methods to Gain the Upper Hand in Chess

Catalog Code: B0134NIC

Opening preparation is useful, but understanding the middlegame is much more important. This book, an improved edition of a Russian classic, teaches amateur chess players 45 extremely effective skills in a crystal-clear manner.

The Chess Instructor 2009 The New in Chess Compendium for Chess Teachers, Coaches and Parents

Catalog Code: B0054NIC

The Chess Instructor 2009 is the first publication to give comprehensive answers to all questions of chess teachers and parents. It provides tools and methodologies for beginners as well as for more advanced coaching. With ready-to-use teaching exercises for all levels.

Mikhail Tal was one of the greatest geniuses of chess history. The magician from Riga, as he was known because of his dazzling attacking games, took the chess world by storm and in 1961, at the age of twenty-three, he won the world championship.

In this memoir Walter Browne recounts his formative years, how he befriended and played Bobby Fischer in New York City, how he travelled the world, made his name and lived his life. He annotates his best chess games from over four decades, great attacking games full of sacrifices and fireworks, in a clear style that is accessible for amateur players.

I primarily ordered this because I was curious. I thought that it was going to be more or a "chess story/history" book, which in part it is. The dimensions of the book are 8 1/2" by 11" and the font is a little on the large side. Also the book is only 89 pages long. This is most likely because the book seems to be aimed and junior level players say beginners from approximately 10-14 years old.
The drawings are pleasantly done as far as I can tell all the chess positions that are part of the story or introductory part of the book have a "drawn" element to them. There are 68 test positions by my counting, and these are done with a more traditional chess font for the pieces, which is a good thing. Their are four test positions for almost every chapter or section, They are in given with increasing difficulty and they are labeled Rookie, Club Player, Club Champ and Expert. There are also about another 18 positions that are part of the stories and introductory sections of the chapters.
I would primarily suggest this book for parents, coaches and junior level players. For other players if you want to see and interesting and well done chess book and learn a little about chess history in a fun way then this book may also be for you as well.

This book explains piece values, strengths, weaknesses and simple traps like exposed check. It took my game from basic beginner to talented player in just a few months.
Highly recommend for all but master class or highly trained players.

I have read and owned other books by Alburt, including several in the Comprehensive Chess Course Series. I was interested in this title to see just how they would be condensing the other volumes. There is of course a lot of standard fair here. I am not impressed with the two chapters on the openings. They is some good advice but they are missing simple opening principles of king safety, active development of ones pieces, etc. As for typos I noticed one on one of the first diagrams I looked at. On page 68 the first example demonstrating the battery has 1. ...Rh1+ 2. Kxh1 Qxh2#. Well there is nothing on h2 so there is nothing for the Queen to take, i.e. (x). While this is only slightly annoying for me a new or beginning player might start getting confused. The other thing that I find annoying is the use of two different size board diagrams. Most of the diagrams are 1 5/8" square, but occasionally they switch to 1 1/8" squares for no apparent reason. Sometimes it seems like it is a device to save space but other times it wouldn't matter. As far as a space saving device it fails in it annoyance and distraction. Overall I give it a fair to good 3 stars for the breadth of information and the decent synthesis of it all. If you are a rated player of over say about 1600 there will be little new here for you unless you want a review of basics presented in perhaps new ways.

Why Sam Sloan and Ishi Press are redoing this book and in descriptive notation when the original abridged version is still available from Dover books for nearly half the price is a mystery and a shame. All the books that Ishi Press is "re-issuing" they are not updating the notation to any form of algebraic.

This book is not only interesting to read, but it also gave me new strategies in the game of chess. In the back of the book, it has a whole bunch of problems to do that comply with the lessons in the book. So not only does it show you the lessons, but it reinforces them with questions about them. There are very funny and interesting stories in this book, I loved the one about the man who caught his pants on fire and spooned soup into his lap while focusing on a chess position. Overall, this is an excellent book for the young, old and all fans of chess!

By Joel Johnson
Aug 23, 2012
What people are saying about this book:
===================================== Life Master Brian Wall (USCF: 2213) - 2 time Colorado State Champion =====================================
I think I've died and gone to heaven. Joel has a Fishing Pole chapter where I beat GM/s/IMs. also featuring games from many friends like Ted Doykos, Kevin Seidler, GB Salvio ( A Brazilian who plays Fishing Pole blitz and postal games ), Jack Young, Craig Thomson ( Goyathlay ) and many others. It also warms my heart when I see games from Ireland or my games in non-Fishing Pole chapters. Of course plenty of GM games plus plenty of original attacking theories straight from Joel Johnson's laboratory. As usual the games are arranged by themes with plenty of explanations and examples. This time it's even better because we get fan mail from the first book, Formation Attacks, from around the globe. This book is the easiest to sell I've ever handled. It's terrific to see Joel succeed with another instant classic.
Brian Wall
===================================== Randall Hoch (USCF: 1891) Texas =====================================
I am finding it as enjoyable as your first one. The games you have chosen are not only instructive, but also very entertaining. Your books have given me appreciation and motivation to play attacking chess from move 1. ... So I have to credit you with showing me the way! Best regards, Randy
===================================== Michael Stewart (USCF: 2267) Mississippi ===================================== I got your new book,outstanding work!!! Better than the first if that's possible. Both books are attacking classics,and should be on every chess players shelf.